Five-star DE Malik McDowell, seen here at Michigan, will be headed to rival Michigan State. (Leon Halip/Getty Images)

Things got heated at the end of defensive end Malik McDowell’s recruitment, but the Southfield, Mich., prospect has officially made his choice. The No. 1 player in Michigan will be headed to Michigan State.

McDowell made his choice right around 9:30 a.m. ET, picking the Spartans over Michigan, Florida State and Ohio State. Typically coaches give a late push, but in this instance, McDowell’s parents were the ones throwing a late charge into some negative recruiting

“We don’t want him at MSU,” Malik’s mother, Joya Crowe, said Monday night, and she gave multiple reasons.

“Something happened, I don’t want to put it out there what it was,” she said of her son’s recent official visit, “but I had a bad experience at MSU.”

Ultimately McDowell went with the team he thought was best, and that was the Big Ten and Rose Bowl winners. McDowell is ranked 26th in the class, and is the number two defensive end in the nation, according to Rivals. He’s a monster pickup for the Spartans. who had arguably the best defense in the country last year. Grabbing a five-star defensive end is always a good thing.

The gap between Michigan State and the Wolverines was always pretty sizable. But after the season the Spartans had in 2013, and the way Michigan continues to slide, the situation has been reversed. Michigan State is the top dog now.

[UPDATE 12:30 p.m. ET] McDowell's future in East Lansing might not be a done deal yet, according to Rivals.com's Mike Farrell.